Days with the Dorans

We've had a week off for midwinter break (Jeff had Monday and Tuesday off), but we hadn't done much outside the house because we wanted to stay close to Cobi. On Friday Jeff had another unexpected day off (due to warming and then refreezing on roads) so the kids and I got out of the house and had some fun.  We joined Ali's good friend from dance and had a 'dance date.' I love Amber's mom and she also has a son Joey's age.  We all met at McDonald's (where I haven't been in forever), got the kids some food and let them run around the playground they had. The kids loved climbing and sliding and had so much fun.  After lunch we headed to a movie~ which happens to be around the corner from our house but I never knew existed because it was in a direction I never go.  We decided to see the movie, Frozen.  Both Ali and Amber had seen it but since the boys and I hadn't, we went.  I never know what I'm going to get with Sean but he had a gr...

 Ali was so excited to have the opportunity to take a Master Tap Class with Gregg Russell who is a well-known and awesome tapper.  Ali has an amazing tap teacher and along with learning steps and combinations, she has also learned a lot about the history of tap.  Ali had watched a lot of Gregg Russell's videos and knew quite a bit about him so to have the opportunity to take a class with him was a bit surreal for her. Although the kids were allowed to wear more hip-hop type clothing, Ali felt more comfortable in her studio dress code (hair in bun- solid leo).  Ali is a girl who likes to know what is expected of her~ listens intently and practices.  When I catch her dancing in her room and just letting go, it is the best (though I didn't think she'd do that in the class).  She was definitely nervous! It was fun to be able to watch her and how after a few goes she was able to pick up what he was doing.  It really made me long for some tap shoe...

 I never thought I'd be someone who would own two dogs, but Cobi came along simply because Pele' (our first dog) needed to gain a couple pounds and since nothing seemed to be working, the vet suggested some 'food competition' for Pele' (aka a puppy).  So my mom and I were off quick to find a puppy for Pele' (Jeff worked in business at the time and we were in the last weeks of summer).  We found another Humane Society Special (given the name "Walter") and he and Pele' seemed to not mind each other, so we took him home and renamed him "Cobi Jones" after another soccer player (not a great one but I liked the sound of the name).  Pele' gained the couple pounds he needed, but we gained so very much more... Cobi has been a bit of a lug... he loves his food, he'll chase a ball (and goes nuts for squirrels) but he'd much rather lounge in the water (I mean, just walk in and hang out). I remember when I was pregnant with the boy...

Speaking of traditions (in my last post)... I started one last year in our house by giving my children a "Heart Attack" for Valentine's Day.  I didn't want Valentine's Day to become a holiday where we exchanged gifts, but sweet messages on cards.  I'm sure I heard this somewhere (since I believe no idea is truly original). I cut out hearts and write love notes on each heart for the kids and I try to be real specific.  This is such a great tradition because it's FREE (I always have construction paper around).  I did buy each kid their own Mylar balloon so I spent a total of $4 at the Dollar Tree. As for the 2014 hearts... Here is what they said (I had a crazy night so left it to only 40 hearts this year). In no particular order... ~Joey~ *I love listening to you play piano. *I love seeing Mr. Sunshine (the 'happy' cartoon character he draws after practicing math problems on his white board). *I love how hard you've worked on your mat...

 Jeff's mom has made it a tradition to send the kids holiday packages throughout the year.  When a box showed up on our porch a few days before Valentine's Day, they knew who it was from!  They could hardly wait to open it because they knew that it held treasure from Grandma!  They each got their own bags of treats (Ali's of course had things specially chosen for a princess) and they were thrilled (and their volume showed it)! In addition to treats for the kids, Grandma sent a lot of her homemade goodness!  Grandma is a great cook and baker and we were all excited to see some of her yummy creations too!

It's no secret that my Nan has a horrible memory.  I know it's been really hard on my mom who would receive her MANY phone calls each morning and each evening.  She'd always say the same thing, "I'm so confused,"  "I don't know why I'm so mixed up" or "What do I do now?"  Then she'd hang up and a few minutes later, the phone would ring again. It was so hard and I know my mom was really struggling with everything!  My mom looked into different types of care for my Nan like perhaps moving her to a group home (that we actually went and visited) but in the end, she decided to keep her in the same place (she's very active during the day) but with more care in the mornings and at night.  She's right down the hall from her old apartment, but instead of having a two bedroom, two bath place (a bit much for her), she has a one room place that is set up like a studio.  I love it and it's so cozy. The boys moved all t...

 I don't know when it started... Perhaps me being too cheap to color my hair, then too cheap to cut it... Perhaps the ease or throwing it in a pony or that Jeff liked it... For whatever the reason, I let my locks grow.  Usually I am a girl who prefers short hair, but after my hair got longer than it's 'usual' I decided to let it grow and then do something with it. So many in Jeff's family have had cancer (his dad, mom, sister-in-law).  My dad recently was treated for Prostate Cancer (though he had radiation without chemo). Then there is my friend whose sweet baby was just diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and another friend whose daughter was diagnosed with alopecia (a condition where someone loses their hair).  I have never liked my hair.  In fact, if I could change one thing about myself, it would be my hair... but looking around me, I realized that I needed to be thankful for what I have.  I am blessed and it was time to share that blessing. ...

It has been a CRAZY winter!  I've heard people say that this snow is nothing compared to 'when we were kids,' but the truth is~ with record snowfall (literally the SNOWIEST month in our state's history), THIS is the most snow I've ever seen!  On top of that, we've also had REALLY cold weather.  So much so, that schools have cancelled many days this month because of dangerous windchill temps (We literally only had one full week of school in the month of January!).  So we've had tons of snow, but it's pretty much been too cold to go out and enjoy it (until this weekend)!  It was great that we got some snow yesterday that would actually PACK too!  I don't think that Jeff liked it much (since he was the one that did the back-breaking shoveling), but the kids and I had a lot of fun (I took a break from report cards to come out and play... too hard to resist!)! We've had so much snow that it goes up to my knees so I think that Sean just d...